Waitrose plans petrol station trial

Waitrose has announced a new partnership with Shell that will see the food chain rolling out its convenience stores into petrol stations in a two-site trial, as part of its efforts to extend its products to more consumers.

The trial will see Waitrose operating two Shell-owned petrol stations in Watford and Bayswater in London, acting as Shell's agent for fuel sales.

Upon successful completion of the trial, "Little Waitroses" are expected to be rolled out in 100 petrol stations owned by Shell.

There will be nearly 30 workers in each store, which will sell about 2,500 lines.

Speaking about the food chain's efforts to expand its customer reach, Mark Price, managing director of Waitrose, said: "Our research suggests there are six to seven million people who would like to shop at Waitrose but live too far away from our shops."